“It was great to get the award,” added Rick. “To be fair, when Bryan turned up I had a feeling we might have won - it was a bit of a clue.

“We had a brilliant night - we didn’t get to bed till 5am. How was I the next morning? It’s fair to say I’ve felt better...”

Adams, famous for hits including Everything I Do, I Do It For You, took the collection of intimate images of Rick last year for an exhibition in London.

The portraits have a personal link for Adams, whose grandfather and father were in the British Army.

Rick, who also served in Northern Ireland and Iraq during a 14-year military career, said: “The photograph means the world to me, and I think The Big Issue cover speaks to anyone that has lost someone in the Armed Forces or has been affected in their own way.

“It’s a very proud picture for me. I was still serving at the time, so I was still able to wear my mess dress.

“It was the last photograph of me wearing the uniform and basically marked the end of my army career.”